Fenwick takes its place among Quiet Resorts

There was not widespread approval of the border between Delaware and Maryland. Because of some fuzzy colonial geography, both William Penn, proprietor of Pennsylvania and Delaware, and Lord Baltimore, the proprietor of Maryland claimed Fenwick Island.

The dispute dragged on for decades; and in 1732, Charles Calvert, the fifth Lord Baltimore, met with the sons of William Penn to negotiate a settlement of the disputed land. Both sides agreed that the southern limit of Delaware would be Cape Henlopen.

At the meeting, a map was used that showed Cape Henlopen in the vicinity of Fenwick Island, and Calvert agreed to this location as the southern border of Delaware. When Lord Baltimore belatedly discovered that most maps showed “Cape Henlopen” two dozen miles to the north, at the entrance to Delaware Bay, he attempted to nix the deal.

The Penn family, however, prevailed; and Fenwick Island became part of Delaware.

After the approval of the disputed border between Delaware and Maryland, Fenwick Island remained essentially uninhabited.

For many years, the people who came to Fenwick Island were temporary visitors who fished, crabbed, collected driftwood and then went home. In 1859, when the lighthouse was completed, houses for the lighthouse keeper, his assistant and their families were constructed; and they became permanent residents of Delaware’s most southern beach.

Three decades later, a life-saving station was built a short distance north of the lighthouse; and in 1898, the first Fenwick Island camp meeting was held within the shadow of the lighthouse.

During the first years of the 20th century, a small trickle of vacationers began to make their way to Fenwick Island, and they stayed in simple wooden houses that lacked electricity and running water.

Vacationers feasted on fresh fish from the ocean and crabs from the bay. During the day, they played in the surf; and at night, they enjoyed the cool breezes while they swapped stories by the light of a kerosene lamp. Years passed, and the squatters on the beach were not bothered by legal details such as a clear title for the land under the cottages.

After World War I, Delaware began a road improvement program that lasted for over two decades. One of the last projects in southern Delaware was a highway along the coast that would run south from Bethany Beach to Ocean City, Maryland.

In 1929, The Delaware Coast News reported: “The plan to connect the Sussex county ocean resort with Ocean City is meeting with widespread approval in this community.”

There may have been widespread approval for the new highway in some Delaware communities, but the owners of the cottages on Fenwick Island were not enthusiastic. The planned path of the new road ran right through the location of their summer homes. The state gave the squatters an option to buy beachfront land that was not on the right-of-way, but some thought the asking price, from $100 to $250 a lot, was too high.

In 1941, the State Highway Department issued an ultimatum to the squatters on Fenwick Island, “All buildings on State lands belonging to owners who have not purchased lots previous to Jan. 1, 1942 must be removed within 30 days from that date.”

By the end of World War II, the land disputes were settled, the coastal highway completed; and in 1953, the town of Fenwick Island was incorporated. There was widespread approval that Fenwick Island had taken its place among the quiet resorts of Delaware.